Die Seewölfe kommen

This movie really is an oddity - as others have noted its hard to see it being made now and it was pretty odd to see it being made then. However, I'd encourage folk to watch it as its an old-fashioned yarn featuring some splendid cameos from a strong cast of supporting actors. As for the stars - well Messrs Niven, Peck and Moore aren't perhaps stretched too much but they do enough to show just why they were the stars. I think its called 'screen presence'. Peck's accent - a plucky effort and far from the worst I've heard.

A few minor points Why was the film made? Am I alone in suspecting that the director had a key role? Andy McLaglen had a penchant for casting favourite actors (a John Ford influence) and a scenario like this with ample opportunity to cast screen veterans would have appealed. He was also the son of the redoubtable Anglo-Irish actor Victor McLagan, an old soldier who (as you'll find elsewhere on IMDb)in the 1930s organised a semi-militaristic polo club called the 'Light Horse Brigade'. A coincidence - surely not, it must have appealed to McLaglen to publicise the story of another 'Light Horse' that did get to 'do its bit'.

On the German resistance. These were not crack Nazi stormtroopers - they were mainly merchant sailors (tho some would have had naval experience). They were also taken by surprise in a neutral port where they were happily sitting out the duration. Given those circumstances they put up a rather good fight in the film - and its to be noted four German survivors of the raid were advisers on the movie.

On people being shot in the arm. Were they supposed to invent extra British characters so they could kill them? On the whiskey - its the men's cover if the raid went off half-cocked as was quite possible.

On the dedication - Mountbatten was the wartime commander in the area of operations including the Indian Ocean. Being made so soon after his murder it must have appealed to McLaglen (British-born of Protestant Irish stock) to remind the viewers again that not all old soldiers get to live out their retirement peacefully. We should also recall the two teenage boys (one of them local) and the 83-year old woman killed along with Mountbatten in that terrorist atrocity.

Finally, I like the closing moments when the men are gazing at the burning ships. No champagne, no cheers, no high fives - just a comment of 'poor devils'.

A ponderous, but stately homage to the British Empire and the actual superlative function of British Intelligence. It is beautifully photographed, and in no hurry, which is somewhat refreshing in the light of modern, hyperactive drama. The film features solid acting by some great names supported by a prime polo stable of British character actors. The film makes a conscious effort to keep close to the historical record, which would be the reason for some of its more unlikely episodes. Only the writers of fiction need restrict themselves to the probable.

David Niven is worthy of himself, as is Gregory Peck, with an underplayed British accent. Roger Moore has a great deal of fun being a spy who is NOT James Bond, and is clearly enjoying the role. His feminine antagonist is portrayed as lethal and skilled, and Trevor Howard does himself credit in advanced old age.

The film's accurate sets and equipment are the results of many of the actual parties involved assisting in the film, which was made two years after the actual records of the Raid on Goa were finally made public by the British government.

Based on a true story, the Sea Wolves are a geriatric impossible mission team called back to duty after 40 years of retirement with the offer of a dangerous mission that carries no hope of reward or recognition for their efforts. And they jump at the chance!

The movie itself is rather average, but the story is great fun, and more suspensible at times than one might expect. It suffers only from a decidedly 1970s made-for-television feel to the production, though the story is set in 1943. But even this drawback is ameliorated somewhat by closing credits where images of the real-life heroes from World War II are juxtaposed with those of the actors who immortalized their heroism in this film. Well worth watching.

A neutral Portugese port in India has three German cargo ships in it. One of them is believed to contain a hidden short wave radio that is transmitting the locations of British war ships to U-Boats, costing the British Navy dearly in the Indian Ocean. Because the port is neutral, Allied forces are not allowed to enter and destroy the radio. A plan is finally devised to use aged retired members of the, no longer in use, Calcutta Light Horse, who are now enjoying the joys of civilian life. But, is there really a radio in the harbor? If so, which ship is it on? This is quite an entertaining film, especially for those who enjoy (and remember) Gregory Peck, David Niven, Trevor Howard, and many many more British actors.

They just turn up in films like this.

I loved this film. The combination of these great old stars and charecter actors having a lark in a war film. Fantastic.

The trick with this film is not to take it too seriously.

Just sit back and release your grip on reality for a couple of hours.

Pity we don't get more films like this today.